Sword Art Online: Lost in Time
by MidnaBlack
Summary: This is my first story, so helpful criticism/any kind of issue you have, feel free to comment.


Gemma took in a deep breath as she waited for the clock to strike 1:00. She was one of the ten thousand people who were waiting for the clock to hit 1:00. The servers would open for the new game, Sword Art Online. Only ten thousand copies were made of this game, and it was an instant hit! There were lines that went down the street in the various stores. She was just glad that she got a copy.

Even though she was one of the lucky 1000 that got to be a beta tester, her excitement was only growing to enter this world again. Virtual reality was a strange thing. Her long blond hair fell to the middle of her back, but back in Aincrad, she had short ice blue hair with grey eyes. The Betas called her Snow, and thus her username was Snow.

Gemma glanced at the time, 12:58. It was time to get ready! She grabbed her Nerve Gear, and laid on her bed, scratching her white cat on the head first. "See you in a little while, baby," She cooed at the kitten and then placed the headgear on her head.

12:59, Her excitement was very obvious now. Her hands were shaking and she gently smoothed her clothes down and settled her head in a better position on the pillow. The digital clock changed to show 1:00.

"Link start!" She cried out, her voice cracking slightly. But, the game didn't notice her excitement. Her vision was blinded by the start up menu, bringing up her old Beta avatar and stats. She was almost positive that Betas lost their stats, but she shrugged it off a moment later.

She was standing in the Town of Beginnings with all of the other waiting players. She grinned and pulled her dark blue hood over her head before proceeding to walk to the boar fields. Her small ice blue sword swung at her hips. The joy she felt as she noticed that the Town of Beginnings was full of people.

"I don't understand how to use this!" An annoyed girl shouted out.

Gemma smiled. "You have to activate the different forms: horizontal or vertical," She changed the position of the swords and watched as her's powered up. She smiled in satisfaction.

"Thanks!" The girl beamed. "You must be a Beta tester, you're so lucky," She lowered her gaze in jealously.

Gemma shrugged. "Don't worry, a book of hints and stuff will be distributed soon," She looked at one of the NPC stands. There was a long line at one of them. "I think that's the line," She muttered.

The girl nodded. "What's your name?" She questioned.

Gemma opened her mouth but was interrupted. "Snow!" A voice called out. Gemma whirled her head around and saw the avatar of her friend from a different game running at her, "Snow!" Klein called out again. He was dragging someone behind him. She recognized him from the beta.

"Kirito," She nodded at the young boy. The young boy mimicked her nod and said nothing.

Klein frowned. "Wait, you two know each other?" Klein questioned.

Gemma nodded. "Kirito and I were in the Beta together," She explained. "I ran into him a couple of times," She shrugged and then pulled off her hood for a moment, only to re-adjust it a moment later.

Klein sighed. "Kirito said that he would show me the ropes to the game," He smiled. "Why don't you come along?" He questioned.

Gemma shrugged. "If Kirito doesn't mind-"

Kirito shrugged again, but didn't complain. The three of them walked off to the fields where all of the wild hogs are. They were the lowest level. Gemma watched as Klein and Kirito attacked the hogs with fire in their eyes. They looked so determined to achieve things, especially Klein.

Gemma sighed loudly. "Hey boys, I'm going to go get some food for a while," She yawned. "And possibly take a nap," She laughed at herself while pulling up the menu. She pushed a couple buttons and blinked in confusion. Where was the log out button?

"Uh-" She stopped. "Kirito, did anyone mention anything to you about taking off the log out button for a while?" She questioned.

Kirito blinked. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Klein coughed. "You mean, I can't log out to get my pizza that is coming any minute?" He questioned before flicking through his own menu screens. Kirito did the same thing.

"I'm sure it's only temporary, so the servers could get an idea what to handle. I'm sure they'll fix in soon," Kirito muttered.

The bell tower sounded, Gemma felt an unnatural pull at her navel, before she felt herself being teleported. She was the first to arrive, and then the Plaza began to fill up. Kirito and Klein appeared within moments. Gemma felt a queasy feeling settle in her stomach. What was going on?


End file.
